Of  Interest  to  Publishers 

A  Rational  System  for 
Measuring  Composition 


BALTIMORE 

WILLIAMS  &  WILKINS  COMPANY 
1913 


Of  Interest  to  Editors 


This  paper  was  written  for  the  printer  and  the  arguments  advanced 
are  from  the  printer’s  standpoint.  It  has  always  been  our  policy  to 
enlighten  our  customers  on  such  technical  points  which  are  of  interest 
to  those  who  publish,  and  a  knowledge  of  which  often  proves  of  intrinsic 
value  to  those  who  are  buying  printing. 

We  believe  that  an  understanding  by  the  customer  of  the  difficul¬ 
ties  to  be  surmounted  in  the  production  of  a  high  standard  of  book  work 
will  lead  to  a  greater  appreciation  of  the  finished  product,  and  a  greater 
effort  on  his  part  to  effect  real  cooperation  with  the  printer. 

This  same  subject  will  be  presented  within  a  short  period,  advancing 
the  arguments  from  the  publisher’s  standpoint.  Keep  this  pamphlet 
until  the  second  one  reaches  you,  then  re-read  it  after  reading  the  sec¬ 
ond  one,  and  we  believe  that  you  will  understand  that  the  real  interests 
of  both  parties  to  a  contract,  are  practically  identical ;  that  mutual  confi¬ 
dence  will  lead  to  a  degree  of  cooperation  which  will  mean  increased 
efficiency,  bring  a  higher  value  in  workmanship  and  service  to  the 
customer,  and  more  uniform  and  probably  somewhat  better  profits  to 
the  printer. 

We  have  demonstrated  to  others  that  this  is  so  and  we  are  prepared 
to  substantiate  our  claims  to  you. 

THE  WAVERLY  PRESS, 

Williams  &  Wilkins  Company,  Proprietor, 
Baltimore,  U.  S.  A. 


A  RATIONAL  SYSTEM  FOR  MEASURING 
COMPOSITION 

EDWARD  B.  PASSANO 

(President  of  Williams  &  Wilkins  Company ,  Baltimore ) 
(Reprinted  from  the  Inland  Printer  for  July) 


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Speaking  broadly,  cost  records  are  kept  for  two  purposes: 
First,  to  be  able  to  tell  before  a  job  is  taken  what  price  to  charge 
to  make  a  profit  on  it;  second,  to  be  able  to  tell  after  the  job  is 
delivered  whether  a  profit  was  made — whether  the  estimate  was 
right.  An  estimate  that  is  too  low  means  the  loss  of  money;  an 
estimate  that  is  too  high  means  the  loss  of  the  job  and  the  money  that 
might  have  been  made  out  of  the  job. 

Now  the  prime  factor  in  estimating  on  anything,  from  putting 
carpets  on  floors  to  putting  printing  ink  on  paper,  is  determining 
the  amount  of  work  that  must  be  done.  A  man  who  could  not 
measure  accurately  would  not  long  hold  a  job  in  a  carpet  store, 
where  mighty  little  carpet  is  worth  $5  a  square  yard. 
cr><^>  Printers  have  been  unable  to  estimate  accurately  the  cost  of 
composition,  for  there  has  been  no  accurate  system  of  measuring 
composition,  and  yet  there  is  mighty  little  composition  that  is 
not  worth  more  than  $50  a  square  yard. 

The  system,  or  rather  complete  lack  of  system,  of  using  the  em 
of  the  point  size  of  the  face  to  measure  composition  is  ridiculous 
:ja&id  comment  would  be  superfluous  but  for  the  important  fact  that 
this  method  is  universally  used. 

When  composition  is  measured  with  the  em  of  the  point  size 
of  the  face,  no  consideration  whatever  is  given  to  whether  the  face 
used  is  fat  or  lean.  Type  faces  of  the  same  point  size  vary  more 
in  width  than  carpet  does.  How  long  would  a  carpet  estimator 
last  who  assumed  that  all  carpet  was  the  same  width,  and  in  figur- 
^  ing  the  number  of  yards  to  cover  a  floor,  paid  no  attention  to  the 
width  of  carpet  for  the  job  on  which  he  was  estimating? 

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4 


2 


EDWARD  B.  PASSANO 


A  dollar  represents  the  same  amount  of  value  whether  you  pay 
the  dollar  in  quarters,  dimes,  nickels  or  pennies. 

What  does  a  thousand  ems  represent?  Does  a  thousand  ems 
of  twelve  point  represent  the  same  value  (amount  of  work)  as  a 
thousand  ems  of  six  point?  Why,  there  is  often  a  difference  of 
more  than  30  per  cent  in  the  value  of  two  different  thousand  ems  of 
the  same  point-size  type. 

Here  are  three  eight  point  faces: 

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz  {case^aijhabe?}  U-23  8  Pt-  Ems. 

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz  {casl^aiphablt}12-83  “  “ 

abcdefghijMmnopqrstuvwxyz{^\^^}14-42  “ 

The  fattest  of  these  faces  will  set  almost  30  per  cent  faster  than 
the  leanest,  and  the  operator  of  a  composing  machine  when  setting 
the  fattest  of  these  faces  will  produce  30  per  cent  more  ems  in  the 
same  time  than  when  setting  the  leanest;  and  this  on  setting  iden¬ 
tically  the  same  matter — striking  exactly  the  same  keys.  And  yet, 
in  obtaining  output  records  upon  which  to  base  estimates,  how 
many  printers  give  any  consideration  whatever  to  whether  the 
faces  used  be  fat  or  lean? 

It  is  obvious  that  in  selling  printing,  selecting  the  most  profitable 
face  for  the  job  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  and  this  is  becoming  more 
important  as  editions  grow  larger.  In  much  work  the  saving  in 
paper  and  press  work  effected  by  using  a  suitable  condensed  face 
and  spacing  closely  adds  a  very  handsome  profit,  while,  when 
composition  is  sold  by  the  page,  the  advantage  of  using  a  fat  face 
and  wide  spacing  should  not  be  overlooked. 

Whether,  therefore,  you  charge  composition  to  the  completed 
job  at  a  rate  per  hour,  of  a  rate  per  thousand  ems,  you  must  know 
your  average  output  per  hour,  based  on  a  system  of  measurement 
that  really  means  something,  if  your  cost  records  are  to  be  of  any 
real  value. 

The  prime  object  of  a  cost  system  is  to  enable  you  to  sell  at  a  profit — 
to  give  you  the  data  to  estimate  accurately  on  new  work.  It  is  absurd 
to  spend  money  on  a  cost  system  to  get  accurate  hour  costs,  and 
then,  in  estimating,  throw  away  all  this  advantage  by  figuring 


A  RATIONAL  SYSTEM  FOR  MEASURING  COMPOSITION 


3 


on  the  totally  false  assumption  that  all  kinds  of  matter,  set  in  fat 
or  lean  faces,  can  be  produced  at  the  same  average  number  of  ems 
per  hour.  What  can  be  more  foolish  than  giving  the  buyer  of 
printing,  who  says,  “I  do  not  care  for  quality  and  will  not  pay  for 
it,  ”  more  words  to  the  page  than  your  competitor  does,  unless  by 
more  closely  setting  the  job  you  can  make  fewer  pages  and  save 
paper  and  press  work. 

It  is  a  fundamental  principle  of  arithmetic  that  before  any  quan¬ 
tities  are  added  to  obtain  an  average  they  must  be  reduced  first 
to  the  same  denomination;  you  cannot  add  inches  to  feet  and  call 
the  result  either  feet  or  inches;  first  you  must  express  the  quanti¬ 
ties  to  be  averaged  in  feet  or  in  inches. 

In  the  same  way  composition  output  records  must  be  reduced 
to  a  common  basis  before  they  are  averaged.  Proper  allowance 
must  be  made  for  whether  the  faces  be  fat  or  lean.  How  shall  this 
allowance  be  made? 

It  is  clear  to  all  who  have  studied  this  question  that  the  generally 
accepted  standard  for  comparing  faces,  the  length  of  lower-case 
alphabet,  is  too  inaccurate  to  be  of  any  real  help  in  solving  this 
problem.  Indeed,  in  the  old  days  of  piece  work  on  hand  compo¬ 
sition  faces  that  looked  fat  by  this  standard  but  set  skinny,  be¬ 
cause  the  most  frequently  used  letters  had  been  made  condensed, 
were  a  constant  source  of  irritation.  If  scientific  management 
means  scientific  management,  it  is  clear  that  any  system  of  meas¬ 
urement  to  be  acceptable  today  must  take  cognizance  of  something 
more  definite  than  the  alphabet  length. 

The  monotype  keyboard  furnishes  the  ideal  measuring  instru¬ 
ment  upon  which  to  base  an  accurate  system  of  measurement 
because  this  keyboard  is  both  a  measuring  and  adding  machine. 
As  each  letter  and  space  is  struck  its  width  is  tneasured  and  re¬ 
corded  so  that,  after  a  line  is  set,  the  keyboard  indicates  exactly 
the  number  of  ems  in  the  line.  To  those  not  familiar  with  the 
monotype  system  the  following  will  be  of  interest : 

In  using  the  keyboard  the  operator  sets  the  measure  not  to  the 
measure  in  pica  ems  as  a  compositor  sets  his  stick,  but  to  the 
equivalent,  in  picas,  of  this  measure  in  ems  of  the  “set”  of 
the  face  to  be  composed.  The  conversion  of  pica  ems  to  ems 


4 


EDWARD  B.  PASSANO 


of  any  set  is  quickly  made  by  using  a  table  calculated  for  all 
sets. 

In  the  monotype  system  “set”  is  the  measure  of  a  face  “line- 
wise”  and  tells  exactly  how  condensed  or  extended  the  face  is. 
Referring  to  the  three  eight  point  alphabets,  on  page  2,  the  first, 
or  most  condensed,  of  these  belongs  to  a  seven-set  monotype  face; 
seven-set  because  the  widest  character  used  with  this  face  is  seven 
points  wide.  The  second  alphabet  is  eight-set,  while  the  third, 
most  extended,  is  nine-set.  Thus,  in  composing  matter  seventeen 
picas  wide  in  the  most  condensed  of  these  faces,  the  monotype 
operator  sets  his  keyboard  measure  to  twenty-nine  and  one-sixth 
ems  because  his  table  for  converting  picas  into  ems  of  any  set 
tells  him  that  twenty-nine  and  one-sixth  ems  (widest  characters) 
of  this  face  is  exactly  seventeen  picas  wide. 

The  possibilities  of  using  the  “set”  of  a  face  as  a  basis  for  ac¬ 
curately  measuring  the  amount  of  effort  required  to  compose  a 
required  number  of  square  inches  of  this  face  will  be  clear  from 
the  following  specimens  of  monotype  composition.  Bear  in  mind 
that  to  use  this  same  system  of  measurement  for  hand-set  foundry 
type,  or  any  other  process  of  composition,  we  have  only  to  first 
determine  the  “set”  of  the  face  we  wish  to  measure  accurately. 

In  the  old  system  of  measurement  (“traditional”  measurement) 
the  amount  of  matter  set  is  expressed  in  ems  of  the  point  size,  the 
result  of  multiplying  the  measure  in  ems  of  the  point  size  of  the 
face  by  the  number  of  lines  set;  the  rational  system  of  measure¬ 
ment  gives  the  product  in  “Set  Ems,”  that  is,  the  measure  in  ems 
of  the  set  of  the  face  multiplied  by  the  number  of  lines. 

These  specimens  also  show  clearly  the  folly  of  measuring  output 
with  the  em  of  the  point  size  of  the  face  as  a  “yard-stick”  (“tradi¬ 
tional”  measurement),  regardless  of  whether  the  face  be  fat  or 
lean;  because,  with  the  exception  of  the  quads  required  to  finish 
the  last  line  of  the  paragraph,  the  operator  made  the  same  effort, 
struck  the  same  keys,  in  setting  each  specimen;  the  width  in  all 
cases  is  eighteen  and  one-half  picas.1 

1  For  the  purpose  of  accuracy  in  these  calculations,  the  fractions  of  the  ems  have 
been  considered,  but  the  usual  habit  should  be  followed  in  compiling  statistics  of 
not  considering  less  than  an  em,  dropping  the  fraction  when  less  than  one-half, 
and  counting  the  next  whole  em  when  one-half  or  over. 


A  RATIONAL  SYSTEM  FOR  MEASURING  COMPOSITION 


5 


The  first  specimen,  figure  1,  is  set  in  a  seven-set  face,  the  key¬ 
board  measure  is  thirty  and  one-half  ems  six  units  ( J  em) ;  multi- 


The  best  kind  of  originality  is  that  which  comes  after  a  sound  appren¬ 
ticeship;  that  which  shall  prove  itself  to  be  the  blending  of  a  firm 
conception  of  useful  precedent  and  the  progressive  tendencies  of  an  able 
mind.  For,  let  a  man  be  as  able  and  original  as  he  may,  he  cannot 
afford  to  discard  knowledge  of  what  has  gone  before  or  what  is  now 
going  on  in  his  own  trade  and  profession.  If  the  printers  of  today 
do  not  wish  to  be  esteemed  arrogant,  when  they  term  this  calling  of 
theirs  an  art,  they  must  be  willing,  and  show  that  they  are  willing, 
to  subject  it  to  such  laws  as  have  made  its  sister  arts  so  free. 

8  pt.  1A  (7  set)  =9  lines 

Measure  18  picas  (27  ems  of  8  pt.);  Traditional  measure¬ 
ment  =243  ems 

Measure  18  picas  (30K  ems  six  units  of  7  set);  Set  Ems 
measurement  =277K  ems 


Figure  1. 

plying  this  by  the  number  of  lines  (9)  gives  277J  real  ems ,  of  this 
face,  or  “Set  Bms,”  the  name  for  the  output  measured  in  ems  of 
the  set  of  the  face  in  which  the  matter  is  composed.  But  according 
to  tradition  this  amount  of  matter  should  be  called  243  ems,  be¬ 
cause  eighteen  picas  equals  twenty-seven  ems  of  eight  point  and 
the  matter  makes  nine  lines  (27  X9  =  243). 


The  best  kind  of  originality  is  that  which  comes  after  a  sound 
apprenticeship;  that  which  shall  prove  to  be  the  blending  of 
a  firm  conception  of  all  useful  precedent  and  the  progressive 
tendencies  of  an  able  mind.  For,  let  a  man  be  as  able  and 
original  as  he  may,  he  cannot  afford  to  discard  knowledge  of 
what  has  gone  before  or  what  is  now  going  on  in  his  own  trade 
and  profession.  If  the  printers  of  today  do  not  wish  to  be 
esteemed  arrogant  when  they  term  this  calling  of  theirs  an 
art,  they  must  be  willing,  and  show  that  they  are  willing,  to 
subject  it  to  such  laws  as  have  made  its  sister  arts  so  free. 

8  pt.  14A  (8  set)  =  10  lines 
Same  matter  as  Fig.  1 

Measure  18  picas  (27  ems  of  8  pt.);  Traditional  measure¬ 
ment  =270  ems 

Measure  18  picas  (27  ems  of  8  set);  Set  Ems  measure¬ 
ment  =  270  ems 


Figure  2. 


The  next  specimen,  figure  2,  is  set  in  an  eight-set  face  and  meas¬ 
ures  270  “Set  Ems,”  also  270  point-size  ems;  the  same  number 


6 


EDWARD  B.  PASSANO 


of  ems  by  both  systems  of  measurement  because  an  eight-set  em 
is  eight  points  wide. 


The  best  kind  of  originality  is  that  which  comes  after  a 
sound  apprenticeship;  that  which  shall  prove  to  be  the 
blending  of  a  firm  conception  of  all  useful  precedent  and 
the  progressive  tendencies  of  an  able  mind.  For,  let  a 
man  be  as  able  and  original  as  he  may,  he  cannot  afford 
to  discard  knowledge  of  what  has  gone  before  or  what  is 
now  going  on  in  his  own  trade  and  profession.  If  the 
printers  of  today  do  not  wish  to  be  esteemed  arrogant 
when  they  term  this  calling  of  theirs  an  art,  they  must 
be  willing,  and  show  that  they  are  willing,  to  subject 
it  to  such  laws  as  have  made  its  sister  arts  so  free. 

8  pt.  5A  (9  set)  =11  lines 
Same  matter  as  Figs.  1  and  2 
Measure  18  picas  (27  ems  of  8  pt.);  Traditional  measure¬ 
ment  =297  ems 

Measure  18  picas  (24  ems  of  9  set);  Set  Ems  measure¬ 
ment  =264  ems 


Figure  3.  * 

The  third  specimen,  figure  3,  is  a  nine-set  face  and,  as  shown 
beneath  the  specimen,  this  amount  of  matter  is  264  “Set  Ems,” 
or  297  “traditional”  ems. 

Thus ,  if  we  use  the  “Set  Ems ”  system  of  measurement  the  same 
words ,  the  same  number  of  keystrokes  on  a  composing  machine , 
make  practically  the  same  number  of  ems .  But  if  we  use  the  “ tradi¬ 
tional measuring  system ,  based  on  the  point  size  of  the  face ,  the 
variation  in  measurement  for  the  same  amount  of  effort  is  as  follows: 

8  pt.  1A  (7  set)  =  by  Set  Ems,  277§;  by  “tradition/’  243  ems 
8  pt.  14A  (8  set)  =  by  Set  Ems,  270;  by  “tradition,”  270  ems 
8  pt.  5A  (9  set)  =  by  Set  Ems,  264;  by  “tradition,”  297  ems 

Thus,  by  “Set  Ems”  measurement  the  maximum  difference  in 
measurements  is  thirteen  and  one-half  ems,  by  “traditional” 
measurement  the  difference  is  fifty-four  ems. 

Before  the  “Set  Ems”  system  of  measurement  can  be  used  it 
is,  of  course,  necessary  to  know  the  “set”  of  the  face  to  be  meas¬ 
ured,  in  order  to  convert  any  measure  in  picas  into  ems  of  the  set 
of  the  face  by  using  the  monotype  table  for  changing  pica  ems  to 
ems  of  any  set. 


A  RATIONAL  SYSTEM  FOR  MEASURING  COMPOSITION 


7 


The  monotype  specimen  book  gives  the  “set”  of  all  monotype 
faces  and  we  may  determine  the  “set”  of  a  type  or  slug  face  by 
matching  it  with  a  monotype  face,  the  “set”  of  which  is  known. 
It  is  clear  that  if  two  faces  set  line  for  line  on  the  same  matter,  in 
the  same  measure,  they  must  be  of  the  same  “set”  and  that  the 
same  operator  effort,  the  same  number  of  key-strokes,  will  be 
required  to  compose  the  same  number  of  “Set  Ems”  in  either  of 
these  faces,  whether  the  operator  uses  a  monotype  or  a  slug  ma¬ 
chine.  Thus,  the  “set”  of  a  type  or  slug  face  may  be  determined 
by  composing  in  this  face  the  same  matter  as  is  used  in  the  mono¬ 
type  specimen  book — “The  best  kind  of  originality  is  that  which 
comes  after  a  sound  apprenticeship,  etc.” — and  then  finding  from 
the  monotype  specimen  book  the  “set”  of  the  monotype  face 
that  runs  line  for  line  with  this  test  specimen.2 

The  monotype  keyboard  may  be  used  as  a  measuring  machine 
to  determine  the  “set”  of  any  foundry  or  slug  face;  that  is,  to  find 
from  a  printed  specimen  the  “set”  of  the  monotype  face  that  will 
run  line  for  line  with  this  face,  on  the  same  matter  in  the  same 
measure.  The  following  explanation  of  this  method  for  finding 
the  “set”  of  a  face  is  of  interest,  but  it  should  be  noted  that  once 
a  face  is  measured  and  its  set  determined  this  work  need  never 
be  repeated  for  that  face. 

To  find  the  set  of  any  face  from  a  printed  specimen,  set  ten 
full  lines  (no  lines  containing  quads)  on  the  monotype  keyboard 
to  determine  the  number  of  ems  and  fractions  of  an  em  (units)  in 
each  line.  Of  course  fixed  size  spaces,  not  justifying  spaces,  of 


2  In  determining  the  set  of  a  face  by  comparison  always  refer  to  monotype 
Roman  faces  that  are  on  Arrangement  C.  It  is  a  simple  matter  on  the  monotype  to 
combine  in  the  same  matrix  case,  and  therefore  to  compose  together,  a  condensed 
Roman  and  an  extended  Boldface  because  the  Boldface  matrices  are  placed  in  the 
matrix  case  in  positions  that  prbduce  much  wider  characters  than  the  correspond¬ 
ing  Roman  letters.  To  facilitate  making  these  combinations  the  Montoype  Speci¬ 
men  book  always  gives,  for  faces  not  on  Arrangement  C,  the  set  of  the  Roman  face 
with  which  this  Boldface  will  combine;  that  is,  the  set  of  the  justifying  scale  to 
use  in  composing  the  Boldface  shown — for  example  eight-point  11 J,  Arrangement 
C2,  Boldface  is  listed  as  an  eight  and  one-half  set  face.  For  the  purposes  of  meas¬ 
urement  this  Boldface  is  in  reality  a  nine  and  three-quarter  set  face  because  it 
will  compose  line  for  line  with  a  nine  and  three-quarter  set  Roman  face  on  Arrange¬ 
ment  C. 


8 


EDWARD  B.  PASSANO 


the  same  width  as  the  spaces  in  the  printed  specimen  must  be 
used.  From  the  number  of  ems  and  units  in  each  of  these  ten 
test  lines  obtain  the  average  number  of  ems  and  units  per  line. 
Measure  the  width  of  the  specimen  in  picas  with  a  type  rule.  In 
monotype  system,  a  face  that  has  its  widest  character  one  pica 
wide  is  twelve  set;  therefore,  by  simple  proportion,  the  old  rule  of 
three  of  arithmetic,  we  can  find  the  set  of  the  face  tested  on  the 
keyboard  because  we  have  (a)  the  average  number  of  ems  and  units 
per  line,  (6)  the  measure  in  picas,  (c)  twelve,  the  set  of  a  face  that 
would  give  as  many  ems  to  the  line  as  the  measure  in  picas.  We 
can  express  this  relation  as  follows: 


Set  of  face  tested  on  keyboard  = 


Measure  in  picas  X  12 
Number  of  ems  to  the  line 


Suppose  that  the  average  number  of  ems  to  the  line  of  the  face 
tested  was  twenty-three  and  that  the  matter  tested  was  seventeen 
and  one-half  picas  wide.  Then  the  set  of  this  face  would  be  9.13, 
or  nine  and  one-quarter  set;  the  table  for  changing  pica  ems  to 
ems  of  any  set  gives  the  difference  in  faces  by  quarter  sets.3 

1^X12  210  _ 

23  23 


In  thus  determining  the  set  of  faces  it  is  essential  to  take  into 
account  the  necessary  wide  spacing  of  slug  machine  faces.  In 
monotype  composition,  as  in  hand  work,  the  spaces  between  words 
are  proportional  to  the  size  of  the  face.  In  slug  faces  the  same 
size  spaces  are  used  with  all  faces  and  consequently  the  spaces  in 
six-point  slug  composition  are  twice  as  wide  as  in  hand  composi¬ 
tion.  Therefore  in  using  the  keyboard  to  determine  the  set  of 
a  hand-set  face  use  six-unit  spaces  between  the  words  of  the  test 
lines  set  on  the  keyboard;  for  a  slug  face  use  twelve-unit  spaces. 

To  be  fair  to  yourself ,  to  be  just  to  your  operators ,  if  you  keep 
your  records  in  “ Set  Ems ”  never  talk  about  your  ems  per  hour  or 
compare  your  records  with  those  kept  in  the  “traditional”  way  until 

3  For  those  who  have  not  access  to  a  keyboard  the  Monotype  Company  will 
determine  the  set  of  any  face,  twelve  point  and  smaller,  without  charge,  upon 
receipt  of  a  page  of  composition  in  this  face. 


A  RATIONAL  SYSTEM  FOR  MEASURING  COMPOSITION 


9 


you  have  first  converted  your  “Set  Ems”  into  the  “ traditional ”  ems 
of  the  point  size.  To  do  this  increase  your  output  statements  by  not 
less  than  20  per  cent.  This  is  essential  in  comparing  foundry  type 
and  monotype  records  with  slug  machine  output  because  few,  if  any, 
slug  machine  faces  are  so  condensed  that  their  “set”  is  equal  to 
their  point  size  and  also  because  of  the  necessary  wide  spacing  of 
these  faces. 

By  using  “Set  Ems”  in  estimating  you  automatically  make 
proper  allowance  for  fat  and  lean  faces.  A  job  is  to  be  set  in  eight 
point,  twenty-one  picas  wide,  sixty  lines  to  the  page.  If  a  nine- 
set  face  be  used  each  page  will  make  1680  “Set  Ems,”  for  the  table 
for  changing  pica  ems  to  ems  of  any  set  shows  that  twenty-one 
picas  equals  twenty-eight  ems  of  nine-set  (28x60  =  1680).  If 
your  records  show  that  your  composing  machines  average  3600 
“Set  Ems ”  per  hour  (60  “Set  Ems ”  per  minute)  the  time  required 
for  this  page  will  be  twenty-eight  minutes  (1680-^60  =  28). 
If,  instead  of  a  nine-set  you  use  an  eight-set  face  there  will  be 
1890  “Set  Ems”  per  page  (21  picas  =  31 J  ems  of  eight-set: 
31^X60  =  1890)  and  thirty-one  and  one-half  minutes  will  be 
required  to  set  a  page  (1890^60  =  31J).  Thus,  your  price  on 
the  eight-set  face  should  be  12.5  per  cent  higher  than  on  the  nine- 
set  if  your  composing  machines  maintain  the  same  rate  of  profit. 

But  by  far  the  greatest  advantage  of  keeping  output  records 
in  “Set  Ems”  is  that  it  keeps  constantly  before  you  the  profit — 
or  loss — in  type  faces.  It  almost  forces  you  to  furnish  the  face 
that  will  give  you  the  greatest  profit  on  the  job  you  are  estimating 
on.  If  the  edition  be  large  you  make  an  additional  profit  by  sav¬ 
ing  on  paper  and  press  work,  selecting  a  suitable  condensed  face 
and  setting  it  close  spaced.  If  the  composition  is  sold  by  the  page 
you  use  as  fat  a  face  as  possible  and  make  sure  that  it  is  wide 
spaced.  In  short,  if  you  are  in  competition  you  furnish  no  more 
words  to  the  square  inch  than  your  competitor  does  unless  you 
get  paid  an  extra  price  for  furnishing  an  article  that  costs  more  to 
produce. 


vis  wmoo' 


/ 


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